Revelation 7:9-17 (NRSV)
Read Revelation 7:9-17 on biblegateway.com
Verse 9After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. Verse 10They cried out in a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!" Verse 11And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, Verse 12singing, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen."
Verse 13Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?" Verse 14I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows." Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Verse 15For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. Verse 16They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; Verse 17for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
Devotion
God created us in order that we would worship him. This section from Revelation reminds us of that and shows in glory how we ought to worship God and Jesus Christ, the Lamb who was slain to wash away our sins.
Do we always worship God in ways that glorify God? Maybe not. However, the blood of the perfect Lamb who was slaughtered, Jesus Christ, wipes clean our sins, making us pure in God's presence. We're given an example of worship in v. 10 in this passage, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb." Indeed! By the gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we inherit complete salvation also.
Prayer
God, help us to worship you in ways that glorify you. We give thanks that in the midst of our sometimes clumsy, human efforts, we still receive forgiveness of sins through your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.